Daily Briefing: US President Biden, PM Modi discuss Ukraine war; Pakistan gets new Prime Minister
Here's the latest on the Russia-Ukraine war and the crisis in our neighbouring countries, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, from today's edition of The Indian Express.
Good morning,
The Big Story
Ahead of the India and US 2+2 dialogue, President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Narendra Modi met virtually and discussed the situation in Ukraine, with a particular focus on global food supply. Biden welcomed India’s humanitarian support for the people of Ukraine and said the two countries are going to continue “close consultation on how to manage the destabilizing effects of this Russian war”. Modi, speaking on the Bucha killings for the first time, said “killings of innocent civilians” is “very worrying”.
Only in The Express
Sri Lanka’s former prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has a message for President Gotabaya Rajapaksa: resign or explain to the people why you won’t. Speaking to The Indian Express, Wickremesinghe flagged that Indian credit lines for fuel and food would run out by May, and Sri Lanka has to take steps right now to prevent the crisis from overtaking the country.
In response to a Right to Information (RTI) application filed by The Indian Express, the Reserve Bank of India said that its supervisory action against Paytm Payments Bank is “not yet complete”. RBI had directed the Vijay Shekhar Sharma-led payments bank to stop adding new customers with immediate effect and conduct a comprehensive audit of its IT systems.
From the Front Page
Shehbaz Sharif was elected unopposed as Pakistan’s 23rd Prime Minister after Imran Khan’s PTI boycotted the voting and staged a walkout from the House. The younger brother of former three-time prime minister Nawaz Sharif, Shehbaz told the House: “We want good ties with India but durable peace is not possible until the Kashmir dispute is resolved.”
Two people were killed in separate incidents triggered by the malfunctioning of a ropeway in Jharkhand’s Deoghar. Overall 54 people had been rescued from 24 cable cars on the 770-m ropeway to the Trikut hills, which is a popular tourist spot. At least 15 people were still stuck on the ropeway with some without food and water inside cable cars.
A day after communal clashes erupted during a Ram Navami procession in Khargone in Madhya Pradesh, the district administration on Monday carried out a demolition drive, razing 16 houses and 29 shops in five localities of the town. Khargone District Collector P Anugraha said the demolished buildings were illegal constructions and that the drive wasn’t targeted at any particular community. All the 12 shops demolished in the Talab chowk area were part of the Khargone Jama Masjid complex and owned by the masjid committee.